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Chapter 31

Death of Saul and His Sons. (A)Now the Philistines went to war against Israel, and the Israelites fled before them, and fell, slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons. When the Philistines had struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul,(B) the fury of the battle converged on Saul. Then the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded. Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through; otherwise these uncircumcised will come and abuse me.” But the armor-bearer, badly frightened, refused, so Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.(C) (D)When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul, his three sons, and his armor-bearer died together on that same day. When the Israelites on the slope of the valley and those along the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in those cities.

On the following day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul’s head and stripped him of his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to the temple of their idols and to the people.(E) 10 They put his armor in the temple of Astarte but impaled his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

Burial of Saul. 11 (F)When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their warriors set out and traveled through the night; they removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and, returning to Jabesh, burned them.[a] 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.

Footnotes

  1. 31:12 Burned them: cremation was not an Israelite custom. The people of Jabesh-gilead repay Saul’s victory over the Ammonites on their behalf (chap. 11) by providing burial and funeral rites for him and his sons. Probably the damaged state of the corpus necessitated cremation.

Saul Takes His Life(A)

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.(B) The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons,(C) and they killed his sons Jonathan,(D) Abinadab and Malki-Shua.(E) The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded(F) him critically.

Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through,(G) or these uncircumcised(H) fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died(I) together that same day.

When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.

The next day, when the Philistines(J) came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news(K) in the temple of their idols and among their people.(L) 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths(M) and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.(N)

11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead(O) heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men(P) marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned(Q) them. 13 Then they took their bones(R) and buried them under a tamarisk(S) tree at Jabesh, and they fasted(T) seven days.(U)